Should Have Been
by x-Avarice-x
Summary: As he watches her die, the Doctor wishes he knew Lorna. As he is about to find out, he already does. *Spoilers for A Good Man Goes To War, includes episode link*


The entire time I was watching "A Good Man Goes To War" that Lorna character kept sticking in my head. I honestly thought she was someone else, but then that theory ended up not being true. But I hate sad endings, so think of this as an alternate universe bit. Just me being completely mad.

If you live in America like I do and haven't seen the episode yet: www (dot) videobb (dot) com/video/HX2nc9zJBRkt

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><p>"Doctor, there's someone who wants to speak to you. Her name is Lorna. She came to warn us."<p>

The Doctor reluctantly tore his eyes away from Amy and Rory and rested them on his Silurian friend. He wrung his hands and pulled out the sonic screwdriver, scanning the body that was leaning on the metal stairs. He flicked the sonic open worriedly, then rubbed a hand down his face when his fear was realized. He quietly closed the sonic and managed a smile when her eyes opened to meet his.

"Hey." He pocketed the screwdriver and watched her expression of pain change into one of happiness. "Hello."

"Doctor." She smiled.

He returned the gesture, then sat in silence for a moment, unsure of how to continue. "You helped my friends. Thank you."

"I met you once," she said softly, breathing labored. "In the Gamma Forest." The Doctor's face took on a light of recognition, but she knew better. "You don't remember me."

"Of course I remember!" He crept forward, gently taking her face in his hands. "I remember everyone." She began to cry and he gently wiped a tear from her face, keeping a hand to her cheek in comfort. "Hey, we ran. You and me. Didn't we run, Lorna?"

"I didn't kill him," she said softly. "I could have killed him, but I didn't. You were right. There's always a choice."

Something in the back of the Doctor's mind tugged a memory forward, a memory of those same words from a different mouth. "Lorna...?"

His eyes widened in shock as her skin began to glow golden. She smiled at him, then roughly placed a hand on the step behind her, pushing her mangled body to its feet. The Doctor stood in the same instant, both confused and wanting to help her stand, but she waved him off and his hands flew around in the air instead. The color in her skin began to shine. Vastra stumbled backward in shock, grabbing the Doctor's jacket and yanking him back before he could do anything else.

She had told them that she was from the Forest. It wasn't technically true, though he did visit there for thirty seconds. Just once, thirty seconds, and they ran together. He left before she could tell him who she truly was. He wouldn't recognize this face, after all. It was her second, but he'd never met it before.

She had stayed in the Forest for a long time. Learning the ways of the people who lived there, embracing their ways and their language. "Doctor" to them meant "Mighty Warrior". She had told him that he was a soldier. He never listened.

"Lorna" carefully took a step away from the stairs, determined to stand on her own power. She felt the artron energy coursing through her body and she gave the Doctor one last smile. "Bye, Dad."

She could hold the regeneration back no longer. Her arms and head were obscured by the waves of energy that were flowing out of her. Amy and Rory noticed the sudden change in light and turned to face it, understanding nothing about what was happening.

The Doctor was watching in complete astonishment, confusion and joy all over his face. As her regeneration cycle faded, the flows of golden energy ended abruptly, and she stumbled back, catching the railing to her left in the nick of time. The Doctor rushed forward to take her hand and steady her.

She quickly took a look at herself. She was a bit taller, a bit thinner, with the same skin tone but-

"You're _ginger_!" The Doctor yelled indignantly.

"Am I really? Well, blond to brown to ginger, how's that for a rainbow?"

The Doctor's face was plastered with anger, glaring into green eyes that were the exact same shade as his own. "No daughter of mine is going to have ginger hair before I do. You're grounded for a year!"

"A _year_!" She squirmed out of his grasp, taking a few steps away. "It's not my fault I ended up ginger! It's a roulette!"

The Doctor puffed out his cheeks, marched up to her, and spun her around in the tightest hug he could muster. She was taken by surprise, but managed to enjoy it all the same. "What happened?"He whispered, keeping his arms around her. "You died, Cobb shot you."

"The terraforming device saved me," she explained quickly. "I didn't regenerate because I didn't have to."

"Oh." He thought about it for an instant, then spun away as he often did and smacked himself in the forehead. "Of course!"

"Who the hell is she?"

The Time Lord and Lady abruptly turned their attentions to the married couple who were staring in intense confusion at their strange display of father-daughter antics.

"Oh!" The Doctor quickly pointed back and forth between his child and the Ponds. "Ah, well, actually, the thing is... Um... She's my daughter."

The newly ginger girl gave a wave of sorts. "Hi. I'm Jenny."

"A... daughter?" The irony was coating the room like a thick, woolen blanket.

"You never told us you had a daughter," Rory commented.

"That's because she was dead," the Doctor clarified, then turned to Vastra. "There's nothing to be done about their baby now. She's been taken to Earth to grow up. It's too late."

"Too late? How is it too late?" She demanded, when a bright flash of white light illuminated the room from the area next to the TARDIS.

"So soldier, how goes the day?"

The Doctor immediately dropped his attention from Jenny and Vastra to focus on the irritation that had just materialized behind him.

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><p>I'm not imagining Jenny 3 as any particular actress, just tall and thin and ginger. Reviews are loved!<p> 


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